CHANDHARA  Afghan Hounds

So you have decided that this is the breed for you

    The next step is to find a find a breeder. Where do you look? How do you find one? The chances are good that there are no breeders in your home town, city - maybe not even in your state! Today, the best way to find a breeder is the way you found this site - via the internet. The search engines already have links to different sites which will, in turn, have links to different breeders' sites and to classified ad puppies for sale sites. You can also go to the AKC website and look for links to the breed parent club and regional breed clubs, as well as to AKC Marketplace.

     Many people will turn to social media and try to find a puppy there and this is where you have to be really careful. If  you are searching Facebook groups or pages for sites with the words Afghan Hound in their names, make sure that the group or page is an established one, with admins that have valid identities - yes, you read that right. Over the past year we have seen a number of sites come and go that have been started by people using false identities and using stolen photos to advertise puppies that they do not have. As soon as they are discovered and reported, Facebook will delete them, but they create a new group or page the next day. They often use the word "rehoming" in their name and title and handle the attempt to sell puppies via chat messages.  Be warned - scammers are out there - do not get caught!

    Now things start to get confusing! How do you decide which of these people to contact? Which puppy is the right one for you? If you have been reading some of the advice on the internet it can be even more confusing. You may have read warnings that you should not buy a puppy over the internet, well this may be true if the seller has more breeds than you can count, usually small and toy breeds. These sellers are usually brokering puppies from breeders who will drop ship direct to the buyer. You may have no choice if you really want an Afghan Hound and you do not want to drive several hours one way, stay overnight - or maybe even two - if you want to visit the breeder's home or kennel. You will have to take the breeder on trust - and this will mean person to person telephone conversations! The breeder should feel the same way - they will need to talk to you as well, if they care about where their puppies are going or what will happen to them.

     If a puppy seller says they want to meet you in a public place for "security" reasons, do NOT meet them in a parking lot or a shopping mall! Ask if you could meet them at their vet clinic, in the reception area, NOT the parking lot! There are too many scammers out there that will try to sell you puppies that don't exist, or have fraudulent origins - and with no health guarantee.

    You may also have read warnings that you should never buy a puppy that has not been raised "in the home" - and you will see many advertisers who have caught on to this and use it as a selling strategy, using phrases such as "we are a small family kennel" and this may be true, but this still does not make them the best breeders! You should ask the puppy seller where the puppies are born, and where do they keep the puppies when they get older? A good breeder will whelp their litters in their home. However, Afghan Hound puppies are very active and cannot be kept in small pens in the house or basement beyond the first few weeks of infancy, and if not given the opportunity to exercise themselves outdoors and develop properly, they will never reach their full potential as healthy members of the breed.

     You will need to know something about the breeder, the dogs and puppies they own, and they need to know a lot about you. That is why I like to talk to people on the telephone - or via Messenger. Some breeders prefer to use online applications, but I do not, as in my opinion they are too easy to falsify. People can write in whatever they think the breeder wants to see, and can provide references which have been falsified,

     One thing I do need to mention is that if you have never seen a litter of baby Afghan Hounds before, they do not begin life as miniature adults! The long hair does not begin to develop until they are born and then it comes in gradually. Your new puppy should be at least 8 weeks old by State Law in most American states, and by this time will have had their first vaccines.  Many breeders wait longer than that. The breeder should also provide you with a list of vaccines the puppy has already been given, and a schedule of when the next shots will be due. The same goes for worming, and the products used. You should have had a detailed discussion with the breeder as to whether the litter has been AKC registered and whether or not the puppies have also been individually registered by the breeder. If the breeder/seller is with-holding registration papers from a registered litter, it is an AKC requirement that this must be stated in the contract /bill of sale, with the reasons why, or papers must be provided to the puppy buyer.  Some breeders in the US will also have the puppy microchipped before leaving for a new home, if not, you can arrange for this to be done by your own veterinarian.  In Canada, all puppies must be identified by chip or tattoo, registered with the CKC, and registration documents supplied to the new owner by the breeder.